Coronary CT AI firm HeartFlow scraps $2.4B merger deal, citing ‘unfavorable market conditions’
A vendor that uses CT images to create 3D models of the heart is scrapping plans to go public in a $2.4 billion merger, citing ongoing turbulence in the market.
HeartFlow first announced the deal in July after reaching an agreement with Glenview Capital Management. The New York City hedge fund had planned to create a “special purpose acquisition corporation,” which would then merge with the Redwood City, California, imaging vendor.
Following the deal, Heartflow would have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HFLO, with the vendor receiving $400 million to fuel further growth. However, both sides have “mutually agreed to terminate” their business combination, as a result of “current unfavorable market conditions,” those involved said in a brief Feb. 4 statement.
Recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange shed further light on what derailed the deal. Back in November, Glenview’s special purpose acquisition corporation requested that HeartFlow’s management undertake a thorough analysis of the company’s financial projections. But after completing that process — along with “extensive mutual efforts to negotiate an appropriate valuation adjustment” — both opted to terminate the deal, according to a Feb. 4 SEC filing.
First founded more than 11 years ago, HeartFlow utilizes standard coronary computed tomography angiograms to create a personalized model of the heart. It provides CT imaging-derived, fractional-flow reserve values along the coronary arteries, info that helps physicians understand the degree to which blockages are impeding blood flow to the heart.
Glenview Capital Management, meanwhile, also helped take ultrasound maker Butterfly Network public in a similar $1.5 billion merger in 2020.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.